Brief:
Estes Blue Bird Zero upscale; uses 24-inch parachute recovery..

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero was me first model rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Naturally, me hearties, when I became a BAR, I wanted t' clone one. A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Ahoy! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Nay one t' be deterred, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I searched on. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' make a long story short, I found someone through t' internet who would provide me t' plans and fin tracings. Begad! Blimey! I decided t' do a slight upscale t' BT-60 from t' stock BT-55 size mostly because that is what I had on hand at t' time. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. I installed a 24mm motor mount and glued both sets o' fins t' t' lower body tube. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I then proceeded t' join t' body tubes. Arrr! Blimey! Everythin' be glued with 30min epoxy. Avast! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! (author’s note: BBZ plans are available on Jim Z’s website, me hearties, ya bilge rat, thanks in part t' yours truly.)

When all t' gluin' be complete, t' entire rocket was skim-coated with thinned Fill ’N’ Finish and sanded smooth. Arrr! Blimey! I then proceeded t' prime, and paint t' blue section o' t' rocket first. Ahoy! Blimey! After drying, shiver me timbers, I masked t' blue section and painted t' white section, then clear coat over t' entire rocket. Ahoy! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' decals for this rocket were a challenge. Aye aye! Blimey! I ended up drawin' them myself and printin' them on self-adhesive stock. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' decals turned out good, and t' finished product looked great!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I prepped t' BBZ for her maiden flight on a D12-3. Begad! I installed t' wadding, motor, shiver me timbers, parachute, me bucko, matey, ya bilge rat, and set her on t' pad. Blimey! Blimey! This rocket gives a nice, semi-slow, matey, me hearties, smokey, takeoff. Begad! Aye aye! She went up straight as an arrow — a very stable rocket.. Aye aye! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Ejection was near apogee, matey, and it recovered with no damage. Begad! After a perfect third flight, arrr, shiver me timbers, it landed on t' neighbors’ roof and slid about halfway down t' roof t' t' gutter. Avast! T' BBZ was OK, me bucko, matey, except for some nasty shingle rash on t' edges o' t' fins. Ahoy! Flight number six would prove t' be fatal. Aye aye! After a perfect boost and ejection, me hearties, t' chute did nay open due t' bein' tangled on t' shroud lines. Begad! Blimey! It crashed on t' asphalt HARD — rest in pieces.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I have t' give both construction and flight five out o' five. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Construction was fairly easy, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and t' rocket flies very well.